Improvement in machines for harvesting grain



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. CRANE, or CALDWELL, NEW JEEsEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR HARVESTING GRAIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l6,7S9,.dat-ed March 10, 1857.

To all fic-hom it may concern: y

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. GRANE, of Caldwell, in' the county ot' Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Harvesting Grain and Grass, which I have described in the following specitication and illustrated in the'accoinpanying drawings with sutlcient clearness to enable others o' competent .skill to make and use my invention.

My invention consists in a certain new and useful improvement .inthe construction and inode of operating the rake.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is av side elevation of my improved machine. Fig.

2 is a plan. Fig. 3 is a sectional rear elevation, showing the construction and mode'of operating the rake.v Fig. 4 is a sectional vplan view devoted cheliy to the same purpose. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one ot' the guardteeth with the cuttinglbladeattached.

A is the frame in which the traction-wheel B is hung. This frame does notl extend forward ot the wheel, but only so far forward of the axle as is necessary for the attachment of the boxes. The tongue G is attached to the forward end of this frame upon the left-hand side, and a brace, D, which is attached to and forms part ot' the tongue, is connected to the frame upon the right-hand side. By this arrangementand method otconnectingthe tongue to the frame less weight is thrown upon the axle and more upon the back endl at the point at which the cutter-bar is attached, and the cutter-bar is thus kept lwith more certainty to the ground. Motion is transmitted from the traction-wheel by the gear-wheels E F Gr H Il J, to the lastet'. which a crank is attached,

which is connected to the'cutter-bar.

K is a caster-roller adjustably attached to the frame to raise the cutters to the proper height from the ground to cut grain or grass, as the .case may require.

The platform upon which the grain falls,

` when cut, is hinged to the .bar to which the guard-teeth are attached. This platform-is lnade hollow, and the top of it is formed of slats or bars L, with openings between them for the teeth a. of the rake. These 'teeth are h-inged at one end to the bar M, and are also connected at the middle bythe short connecting-rods b to the bar N, both of which bars M and N extend nearly the whole length of the platform, and all the teeth of the rake are fastened to them, as described above.

Straps O are rivetedl to the bar M at each end of said bar, and the endw'hich is not at-` tached .to the bar is attached to the roller P,

a bundle of grain. T o accomplish this object a strong spring, Q, is attached to an upright which rises from the platform-and the end of `this spring is connected by the cord j' to the roller P. The 'spring Qand the cord f' .are

`shown in red linesin Fig. 1. They are protected by being inclose'd in a narrow box, the

advantages of which will be explained hereinafter.

,Two cords, g g', are attached to the ends of the bar M, and after passing around the pulleys h 7L pass under the pulley t' to the wheel or pulley R on the shaft S. The wheel R is loosely fitted upon `the shaft, but may be connected so as to revolve with it, by a clutchcoupliug, which is operated by the lever T. This lever is hung to the fulcrum j, and a strong spring, k, (shown in. red lines inFig.

2,) presses against it to throw the clutch out of gear. When it is thrown in gear it is kept there by thestop l, which is kept upto its position by a small spring, m. A small iron rod, fn., connects this stop Z to the lever p. When the pulley R is thrown in .gearby pushing the lever T the cords 'g g are wound upon the pnlf ley R, and the rake is bythat means drawn rapidly across the platform. As it arrives near the left-hand side of 'the plat-form an iron staple or stop,q, strikes the lever p and throws the stop Z outof gear, when the-clutch which drives the pulley 1t is thrown out of gear, and the rake is rapidly brought back by the spring .Q to its original position atthe right-hand weiss 4I 'i andinertin oi rlnbm- N being nnnpiy sufficient I'oi' the pnl-pose.

The en l i ifi-S nre beveled upon the upper side,-

. vions. i ,In no other pince orposition could the Spring'mnl coi'dfbeso` rwellprotected, und at the same time so entirely-out of the wnypand this .box Xi serves not only to prot-ect these puffs, but also divides .the cntfrom thcfstundv` fing grain. i i i aving' Lhns fully described my invention, what l chnim ns new, und desire to secure by Letters PntentLifs- I Operating the hzu's M N, to which the raketeeth L nre attached, f'ioin left to 1ight',h v menus of' thev straps O roller *l,'cordf, :ind spring (L), when the saine :ne constructed and zurai'lgcd iu 'relation to euch other' Within thc dividci` or shield X, in the manner :1nd for the purpose set forth.

GEORGE R.' (ll-:A N E.

'Witnessesz Tnos. l. How, L. A. Romulus. 

